


It's a Date

by ohmytheon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: 2 am diner AU, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2014-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-04 02:38:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1763145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Tywin Lannister ended up at this shoddy diner with rival banker Catelyn Stark is beyond him - and yet it keeps on happening.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's a Date

She always gets french toast. Always. And he always gets a coffee, black, despite the fact that it’s two in the morning and both of them should be preparing for bed soon. But they’re not. They’re here in a little diner one block from their offices, she on one side and he on the other. This diner is really beneath him, considering that everything is priced under ten dollars, but she adores the place and its employees and he indulges her for some unknown reason.

"Let me guess," their usual waitress, a short-haired girl named Mya, says, "french toast for the lovely lady and a coffee black for the gentleman." She quirks her eyebrows up at the end. No doubt she does not believe that he is a gentleman, and she would be right in that assessment. No one has ever called Tywin Lannister a gentleman, not even his late wife. "We do serve food here too, you know."

"And as I’ve said before," Tywin replies, "I’m not hungry."

The girl shrugs her shoulders and heads back into the kitchen to deliver their order to the chef. Cook. They don’t have chefs in this place.

"You know, their food here is actually good for the price," his companion offers. "Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s not delicious."

Tywin looks over at her. Catelyn Stark. She’s younger than him (quicker in ways that he refuses to admit), and he…well, he’s fond of her. He’s not quite sure what else to make of his relationship with the other woman. They work for completely different banks. Hers is not quite at the level and status of his, but they crossed paths once for business and they stayed crossed. Both of them generally work late into the night because of overseas business. He found her stranded one night when her car wouldn’t start, and he’d suggested waiting in the diner until her ride arrived, as she’d insisted on not wanting to bother him with a ride home. Without warning, it became a routine to come here together at least once a week.

He rather enjoys her company. Couldn’t tell you why and probably wouldn’t even if he could. A man like him doesn’t admit his weaknesses, but even he knows that this woman is one of his.

"If I’m going to actually eat with you, I’d much rather take you to a nice restaurant downtown," Tywin tells her, "something with at least one star."

Catelyn gives him a sly look, a small smile on her face. “Take me to a nice restaurant, hm? And here I thought you were planning on only bringing me here.”

For a moment, they look at each other. They’ve never really gone out and done anything besides this. The only time Tywin gets to see her is when they have business together or here outside of work. They’ve never gone out for lunch, never just gone out for coffee, nothing. And he doesn’t know why. He… Yes, he wants to do that. He wants to do more with her. When they’re at work, it’s all business, but their conversations here can go on for hours until he remembers that he has work shortly and he still hasn’t gone to bed yet. He knows that Catelyn doesn’t have much free time and the nights she does have she must spend them with him. Maybe her oldest son watches the kids if she has to work into the early hours of the morning or something. And she chooses to spend her little free time with him in this shoddy little diner at two in the morning.

"And here you go," Mya says, interrupting their gazing at one another with a plate of french toast and his coffee. (He told her to bring everything at once right from the start. He feels weird eating or drinking anything while Catelyn has to wait.) She drops off two packets of creamer that she knows he won’t use, just to be amusing. Catelyn thought it was funny at least.

"Thank you," Catelyn says while Tywin just nods his head in slight approval. The girl bounces away and back into the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone once more.

"We should do that," Tywin suddenly states.

Catelyn looks up at him questioningly. “Do what?”

"We should go out - to a nice restaurant - for dinner," Tywin tells her. She gives him a strange look, a guarded one, like she’s not quite sure what to think. He’s never been so bold with her before. They’ve always kept very careful boundaries so that they knew what they were. But Tywin isn’t sure he knows what they are anymore or what he wants them to be. He just knows that he wants something _more_ and Catelyn Stark is one of the few people of genuine interest in his life. “You deserve to be treated to a night out. You’ve said it yourself before; you haven’t gone out in months. And I’d like to think that I could do better than this place for you.”

"You mean a twenty-four hour breakfast diner at two in the morning isn’t fancy enough for you?"

"No - and it isn’t good enough for you either." His coffee is going to get cold at this rate, but he doesn’t care. What he cares about is the look in Catelyn’s eyes. He can tell that she’s startled and caught off guard. Maybe she’s been thinking the same things as him but hasn’t had the courage to speak up. No, courage isn’t the right word. That’s something he knows she doesn’t lack. She doesn’t know her place in his world though or how much he wants her to be in his world. Truth be told, he doesn’t know either. "Next week. Instead of coming here, after we get off work on one of our regular days, I can stop by and pick you up, either from your office or from home."

"The office would be nice," Catelyn says, and then quickly adds, "because then we’d already be in the city, I mean." She smiles for a moment to herself and then focuses on her food, cutting it up into pieces, almost like she’s slightly embarrassed to look up at him. "It’s a date then."

Tywin doesn’t know what to say to that. He picks up his coffee instead and takes a sip of it. Yes…yes, it’s a date. It’s been many, many years, but…he likes the sound of that, with her at least.


End file.
